N-phenylmaleimide-Derived Polymers(Microspheres): Preparation And Properties

As a typical N-substituted maleimide, N-phenylmaleimide can leadto polymers with heat resistance, due to its five-membered ring structureof1,2-disubstituted vinyl which increases the internal rotation resistanceof the molecular chain. In this study, we prepared polymers andmicrospheres based on N-phenylmaleimide and further investigated theirproperties.1. Poly(N-phenylmaleimide-co-α-methyl styrene-co-acrylonitrile)was prepared by precipitation polymerization in a solvent mixtureconsisting of butyl acetate (favorable solvent) and N-propanol(unfavorable solvent), and AIBN was used as the initiator. The effects ofsome important affecting factors on the yield of polymer wereinvestigated, including reaction solvent system, reaction time andtemperature. The effects of some significant affecting factors on the Mnof polymer were also investigated, including temperature and initiatorconcentration. The copolymer was blended with ABS as heat-resistantmodifier. Then we characterized the ABS/copolymer system by DSC,VSP and SEM to characterize the heat-resistance of ABS. We found that the copolymer can improve the thermal stability of ABS to a certaindegree.2. Poly(N-phenylmaleimide-co-α-methyl styrene-co-acrylonitrile)was prepared microspheres by precipitation polymerization in a solventmixture consisting of butanone (favorable solvent) and N-heptane(unfavorable solvent), and AIBN was used as the initiator. The effects ofsome key affecting factors on the morphology of microspheres wereinvestigated, including reaction solvent system, reaction time, initiatorconcentration, monomer concentration and temperature. TGAdemonstrated the remarkably high thermal decomposition temperature ofthe microspheres.3. Because of the special secondary structures, helical polymers canbe potentially applied in many fields, such as chiral separation,chirally-controlled release, chiral catalysis and chiroptical materials. Inthis study, we successfully prepared cross-linked N-phenylmaleimidemicrospheres containing optically active helical polyacetylenes viasuspension polymerization. The microspheres were characterized withFT-IR, showing that the helical polymer chains were grafted on themicrospheres. The intense CD effects indicated that the microspherespossessed high optical activity due to the presence of helical substitutedpolyacetylene. The ability of the microsphere to adsorb Boc-alanine wasinvestigated, demonstrating the potential applications of such chiral microspheres in chiral recognition, chiral resolution and chiral sensors.